ComparativeLawBlog

CALL FOR PAPERS: International Conference on Judicial Independence and Globalization

2012-01-23T21:03:00.000+01:00

International Conference on Judicial Independence and Globalization

Sponsored by City University of Hong Kong

In collaboration with The Faculty of Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Centre for Public Law, University of Cambridge

21-23 March 2012

CALL FOR PAPERS

We invite authors to submit an abstract of about 200 words of your proposed paper presentation. Please submit your paper proposals as soon as possible.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Registration fee for speakers / participants is HK $2,500 (which includes all meals and conference materials, but excludes accommodation charges) Please refer to the registration form for details.

Please make your cheque / bank draft payable to the City University of Hong Kong. An official acknowledgement receipt will be sent to you.

CONFERENCE HOTEL

The conference hotel is Royal Park Hotel. Participants who are interested in taking part into the conference and wish our assistance in hotel accommodation can send a hotel reservation form to Ms Emily Chow, School of Law, CityU for central coordination. The reservation form will be made available at a later stage.

Should you need further information or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us here.

For a registration form and additional information, please see the original notice.

The Civil Law and its Codes: A Journey Through the Americas

2012-01-21T00:22:00.003+01:00

Les Editions Thémis, Montreal, published Le droit civil et ses codes: parcours à travers les Amériques, a collection of papers presented at a workshop series conducted at the Quebec Research Center of Private and Comparative Law at McGill University, edited by Jimena Andino Dorato, Jean-Frédérick Ménard and Lionel Smith. View the Table of Contents.

Les neufs juristes conviés par le centre de recherche en droit privé et comparé du Québec de l'Université McGill à parcourir le droit civil à travers les Amériques et leurs codes en dressent un portrait pluriel. Cela dit, comme le relève Benoît Moore dans le rapport de synthèse qui clôt cet ouvrage collectif dans lequel il se penche sur l'unicité, la centralité et la pérennité des "codes d'Amérique", des thèmes récurrents traversent les textes des auteurs, indépendamment de leur origine nationale. Ainsi, on observe l'évolution du rôle normatif du Code civil en Argentine avec Julio César Rivera qui s'attarde notamment à ses interactions avec le common law et la lex mercatoria. On constate aussi, tant avec Olivier Moréteau, qui réfléchit à la place du Code civil en Louisiane qu'avec Jimena Andino Dorate, Graciela Jasa-Silveira et Nelcy Lopez Cuellar qui abordent le dialogue des codes civils avec les normes constitutionnelles et internationales en Argentine , au Mexique et en Colombie, que la place du code civil dans l'univers juridique a beaucoup changé depuis la première vague de codification au 19ème siècle. De même, l'exposé de de José Antônio Peres Gediel sur la modernisation du droit des personnes physiques en réponse aux innovations médicales et scientifiques et dans la foulée de l'adoption par le Brésil d'un nouveau code civil rejoint à la fois le propos sur les défis associés à la réforme et à la recodification du droit privé que livre Luis Muniz-Argüelles à partir de Puerto Rico et le point de vue québécois de Sophie Morin sur l'avenir du Code civil du Québec. Tel que l'évoquent en ouverte Jimena Andino Dorato, Jean-Frédérick Ménard et Lionel Smith, cet ouvrage pose un regard renouvelé sur le droit civil tel qu'il s'est développé sur le continent américain et constitue une excellente introduction à son étude comparée.

NOTICE: Pargendler on the Rise and Decline of Legal Families

2012-01-17T09:52:00.000+01:00

Mariana Pargendler (Fundação Getulio Vargas School of Law at São Paulo)'s 'The Rise and Decline of Legal Families' (2012) 60 American Journal of Comparative Law is now available on SSRN.

The abstract reads:

The effort to group jurisdictions around the world into a handful of legal families based on common characteristics of their laws has traditionally occupied a central role in the comparative law literature. This Article revisits the intellectual history of comparative law and surveys the evolution of legal family taxonomies from the first efforts at classification in the late-nineteenth century to the influential categorizations advanced by René David and Zweigert and Kötz in the 1960s. The early taxonomies differed from their modern counterparts in important ways. Although the nineteenth century is usually viewed as the apex of the common-civil law dichotomy, this distinction was conspicuously absent from legal family classifications until the twentieth century. A number of economic and political factors – ranging from economic liberalism to anti-colonialist sentiment – likely played a role in minimizing the salience of legal traditions in nineteenth-century legal thought.

NOTICE: New German Law Journal

2012-01-14T20:19:00.000+01:00

The editors of the German Law Journal has recently circulated a message about the latest issue:

Dear Readers:

We are pleased to announce that the new issue of the German Law Journal, Review of Developments in German, European and International Jurisprudence, is now available at www.germanlawjournal.com.

This issue marks the beginning of a new year and of volume 13 of the Journal. It features excellent scholarship in a variety of fields, including Public International Law's engagement with the unruly discourse on Global Constitutionalism, contested issues of territoriality in the Balkans, the newly revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Corporations, a case review of recent jurisprudence in EU law, an essay on copyright licensing as well as an interview with German constitutional law professor Christoph Moellers about the Federal Constitutional Court.

What are we missing? Yes, another true gem in this month's issue: A Book Review Symposium on new publications in the area of Human Rights! It was conceived by GLJ student editor, Tiffany Wong, of Osgoode Hall Law School, around the time of her graduation in 2011, with contributions authored by law students at Osgoode Hall and at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law, and edited by the excellent editorial team at Osgoode. Bravo to all!

As always: Happy reading and, this time still, a very happy new year!

Russell Miller
Peer Zumbansen
Editors in Chief, German Law Journal
The Editors
www.germanlawjournal.com

FINAL REMINDER: IRISH SOCIETY OF COMPARATIVE LAW Conference

2012-01-03T15:41:00.000+01:00

The CALL FOR PAPERS for the IRISH SOCIETY OF COMPARATIVE LAW (ISCL) Conference is closing.

The 4th Annual ISCL Conference will take place on 2-3 March 2012 at the Faculty of Law, University College Cork, Ireland.

See the original Call for Papers or contact b.sage@ucc.ie for additional information.

CALL FOR PAPERS: The Irish Constitution: Past, Present and Future

2011-12-18T15:05:00.000+01:00

The Constitutional Studies Group at University College Dublin invites submissions for a conference on “The Irish Constitution: Past, Present and Future”. The conference is being organised to mark the 75th anniversary of the enactment of the current Irish Constitution and will take place in Dublin between June 28th and 30th, 2012.

The conference line-up will feature a range of distinguished speakers from Ireland and other jurisdictions. Confirmed participants so far include:

• The Chief Justice of Ireland, the Hon. Mrs. Justice Susan Denham

• The Hon. Mr. Justice Donal O'Donnell of the Supreme Court

• Prof. Philip Pettit (Princeton)
• Prof. Mark Tushnet (Harvard)
• Prof. Cheryl Saunders (Melbourne)
• Prof. Deirdre Curtin (Amsterdam)
• Prof Gerry Whyte (TCD)
• Prof. Martin Loughlin (LSE)
• Dr. Aileen Kavanagh (Oxford)
• Dr. Colm O’Cinneide (UCL)

The conference organisers welcome proposals from all disciplines on any topic relevant to Irish constitutionalism. Proposed papers are not required to focus on Irish law alone. The organisers particularly welcome submissions from a comparative, conceptual or inter-disciplinary perspective.

The organisers also welcome submissions from early career researchers. A small number of bursaries are available to cover the travel costs of researchers who have been conferred with their most recent qualification in the five years before June 1 2012 and whose proposals are regarded by the organisers as a leading example of innovative research.

Possible areas of interest might include:

• The implications of the IMF/EU bailout for domestic constitutionalism
• The European Union, the Constitution and the Irish courts
• Calls for constitutional reform in Ireland: economic crisis as a constitutional moment?
• How to organise a process of constitutional reform
• Property rights and the property crash: is there a relationship between constitutional theory and economic policy?
• Republican thought and the 1937 Constitution
• Popular sovereignty and the use of the referendum in Ireland
• The relationship between the common law and a written Constitution
• Ireland’s relationship with the Commonwealth between 1921 and 1937
• Defining the state: National identity and territorial claims under the 1937 Constitution
• The influence of religion and religious identity on Irish constitutional law
• The 1937 Constitution and its commitment to the idea of natural law
• The right to education in the Irish Constitution and the judicial enforcement of socio-economic entitlements
• The relationship between the Irish and Indian Constitutions
• The influence of American constitutional thought on Irish constitutionalism
• The horizontal application of constitutional rights: lessons from the Irish experience?

Persons interested in participating in the event should submit an abstract of no more than 800 words together with a covering letter and CV. Submissions should be made to ucd2012@gmail.com.

Early career researchers should state in their covering letter if they wish to be considered for a travel bursary. They should also include a short explanation of why they feel they should be provided with one of the available bursaries.

Submissions should be received by February 29th, 2012.

Once a selection is made by the organisers, final papers must be submitted by June 1st, 2012.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Doing Justice - Official and Unofficial ‘Legalities’ in Practice

2011-12-15T22:50:00.000+01:00

Doing Justice: Official and Unofficial ‘Legalities’ in Practice

Juris Diversitas is organising, with the Centre Jacques-Berque (Rabat, Morocco), a colloquium to be held in Rabat from 15-16 June 2012. As a follow-up to last year’s launch of the Mediterranean Hybridity Project, its theme will be the relation of the diverse and lived ‘legalities’, both official and unofficial, in the region.

The event will also serve as the 2012 Juris Diversitas Annual General Meeting. Proceedings will be in English and French.

The Mediterranean Hybridity Project

The extraordinary legal and normative hybridity of the Mediterranean region was produced in a complex history of conquest, colonisation, and social and legal diffusion across shifting and porous political boundaries.

The objective of the Mediterranean Hybridity Project is, through a collaborative international and interdisciplinary network of experts, to produce and publish a comparative or cross-cultural collection on these ‘legalities’. On the basis of a questionnaire agreed with the participants, the outcome will be more accurate, useful, and accessible account of Mediterranean hybridity. The presentations made at the colloquium will assist us in this Project.

A draft discussion of the Mediterranean Hybridity Project is available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1874095; a revised version will appear shortly in the Journal for Civil Law Studies.

Proposals and costs

While the primary focus of the colloquium is on the region, especially with respect to the Mediterranean Project, related proposals on ‘legalities’ beyond the Mediterranean are also welcome. Those interested in making a presentation should send a short (250 word) proposal to Baudouin Dupret (baudouin.dupret@cjb.ma) by 7 February 2012.

In general, transportation and accommodation costs are not paid by the organisers. There are, however, no conference fees for Juris Diversitas members and other invited speakers. The conference fee for other attendees will be €100. The Centre will support the costs of several invited speakers coming from Arab countries.

NOTICE: 2012 Thematic Congress of International Academy of Comparative Law

2011-12-10T23:51:00.000+01:00

The 2012 Thematic Congress of International Academy of Comparative Law is being hosted by the College of Law at National Taiwan University, on May 24-26, 2012.

The general theme of the congress is codification, with the second day (May 25) dedicated to the sub-theme “Codification and Legal Transplant: the East Asia Experience”, focusing on Taiwan, Japan, Korea and China.

NOTICE: Husa and Smits on Comparative Functionalism

2011-12-01T14:59:00.000+01:00

The following 'Dialogue on Comparative Functionalism' between Jaakko Husa and Jan Smits may be of interest:

The use of the functional method when comparing legal systems remains debated, even to such an extent that some authors have discarded functionalism as a fruitful method. The two authors of this paper ask what we can still expect from functionalism. While Husa presents an argument in favor of rule-of-thumb functionalism, Smits claims that functionalism has a bright future if it is reshaped. The authors present their arguments by way of a dialogue that was written for the ‘Legal debates’-section of the Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law.

NOTICE: A Decade of the German Law Journal

2011-11-30T10:46:00.000+01:00

The newest issue of the German Law Journal is available. In addition, the editors note the publication of Comparative Law as Transnational Law: A Decade of the German Law Journal (OUP).

The announcement of the journal reads:

This issue is packed to the rim with first-rate, exciting scholarship and it is ---- collaborative! Have a look at our call for papers in conjunction with the English translation of Hermann Kantorowicz's 1906 article on "Der Kampf um die Rechtswissenschaft" in the context of a growing discontent with legal formalism and positivism.

Other highlights in this issue are the articles and case reviews concerning one of the most important constitutional law cases out of Germany in recent years, concerning the so-called Hartz IV payments to social welfare recipients. The landmark decision is discussed in the context of a more comprehensive assessment of the trajectories and the prospects of the much-acclaimed German welfare state system.

Furthermore, you find in this issue a comparative study on the abortion rights cases in both

the U.S. and Germany.

We are one issue away from drawing this year, the Journal's twelfth volume, to an end, and we would like to extend our gratitude and appreciation to our readers, authors and students who continue to make the Journal's publication worthwhile - and possible. We do receive a very high number of submissions and, as a result, are sometimes facing longer delays in our peer-review process, for which we ask for your patience and understanding.

The book is described as follows:

At more than 500 pages, the volume collects selected scholarship from the Journal published over the first ten years of its existence. The book is but a glimpse into the wealth and originality which our authors have contributed and continue to contribute to the Journal. Its breadth and scope illustrate the mandate of the Journal to provide an open, critical forum for transnational legal debate and inquiry. We are immensely grateful to all who have been part of this endeavor over the years. And we do apologize to all of our authors, whose piece did not find its way into the book,but remains equally visible and available through the Online Archive of the Journal, which collects the entire Journal from 2000 to the present day. The book is not the tip of an iceberg, but a small spotlight of what we have come to appreciate as a most enriching and inspiring, certainly also time-consuming, journey. The law has been undergoing tremendous change, comparative lawyers have more and more moved from the periphery into substantive areas of legal practice and theory, realizing that national reference points of their subject matter have become accompanied, challenged and relativized by an increasingly transnational world of law and regulatory governance. The Journal has developed into a forum, where the transformation of national law in a global world has been one of our work's prime focal points, and the global origin of the work published in the German Law Journal suggests that there is an interest in this inquiry. For its ongoing vitality and seriousness, we are grateful.

NOTICE: Uzelac and van Rhee on The Landscape of the Legal Professions in Europe and the USA

2011-11-21T17:54:00.000+01:00

Intersentia has published another volume in the Ius Commune Europaeum series. A Uzelac and CH van Rhee (eds), The Landscape of the Legal Professions in Europe and the USA: Continuity and Change

deals with recent developments in the legal profession in Europe and in the United States of America from a comparative and historical perspective. Apart from discussing the legal profession in general, specific attention is paid to the Latin Notary, the Advocates, the Rechtspfleger, the State Attorney, court experts, and mediators and arbitrators. Topics addressed include the decline of Big Law in the U.S., the classification of court experts as legal professionals in Italy, the demise of anticompetitive measures in the modern legal services market, as well as the question whether mediators should be classified as ‘new’ legal professionals given the fact that mediation services are currently being offered by many of the ‘old’ legal service providers. The volume concludes with a contribution on the collaboration of various legal professions in providing for the needs of legal practice.

The table of contents includes:

The Legal Profession: General
The Judge
The Latin Notary
The Advocate
The Rechtspfleger and the State Attorney
The Court Expert
The Mediator and the Arbitrator
The Legal Profession: Cooperation in the Shaping of the Law

NOTICE: Alternative Dispute Resolution Models in China and Western Countries Practice

2011-11-14T15:54:00.000+01:00

Workshop

Alternative Dispute Resolution Models in China and Western Countries Practice

The Lider Lab of Scuola Sant'Anna in collaboration with the Confucius Institute of Pisa would like to invite you to the workshop on "Alternative Dispute Resolution Models in China and Western Countries Practice".

The workshop will be held in English language on November 25-26, 2011 at Scuola Superiore S.Anna in Pisa.

For further information and application, please visit http://www.lider-lab.sssup.it/lider/it/didattica-e-conferenze/aggiornamenti/306-workshop-alternative-dispute-resolution-models-in-china-and-western-countries-practice.html (page in Italian) or contact us directly at formazione@lider-lab.org.

2011-11-07T10:05:00.000+01:00

University of Macau

Macau Association of Comparative Law

International Conference

11 November 2011

THE NEW FRONTIERS OF COMPARATIVE LAW

9.30 – 9.50 Welcome Speeches

Prof. Liu Gaolong, Interim Dean, Faculty of Law of the University of Macau
Prof. Paulo Canelas de Castro, Associate Professor of European Union Law, University of Macau, Jean Monnet Chair
Prof. Salvatore Mancuso, Associate Professor of Comparative Law, University of Macau; President of the Macau Association of Comparative Law

9.50 Photo group taking

10.00 – 11.15 1st Session: Comparative Law: methodologies and development

Chair: Prof. Salvatore Mancuso, Professor of Comparative Law, University of Macau; President of the Macau Association of Comparative Law

Prof. Mauro Bussani, Professor of Comparative Law, University of Trieste, Italy: Comparative Law Beyond the Trap of Western Positivism
Prof. Rostam J. Neuwirth, Associate Professor of Law, University of Macau: Law and the Mind: A New Role for Comparative Law?
Prof. Sean Donlan, Professor of Comparative Law and Legal History, University Limerick, Ireland: The Ubiquity of Hybridity: Norms and Laws, Past and Present, and Around the Globe

Discussion/Q&A

11.15 – 11.30 Coffee break

11.30 – 12.45 2nd Session: Comparative Law in the International Legal Framework

Chair: Prof. Mauro Bussani, Professor of Comparative Law, University of Trieste, Italy

Prof. Salvatore Casabona, Associate Professor of Comparative Law, University of Palermo, Italy: “Shaken but not Stirred” Legal Systems: Some Rhapsodic Considerations on the Category of “Mixed Legal Systems”
Prof. Muruga Perumal Ramaswamy, Associate Professor of International Law, University of Macau: Comparative International Law: Emerging Trends and Methods
Prof. Wei Dan, Associate Professor of Law, University of Macau: Analytical Comparison as a Challenge for International and Comparative Competition Law

Discussion/Q&A

12.45 – 14.30 Lunch

14.30 – 15.45 3rd Session: Comparative Law in an East Asian Perspective

Chair: Prof. Tong Io Cheng, Professor of Law and Associate Dean, University of Macau

Prof. Ignazio Castellucci, Professor of Chinese Law, University of Trento, Italy, Visiting Pro
fessor, University of Macau: Comparative Law in Asia
Prof. Zhang Lihong, Professor of Comparative Law and Roman Law, East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, China: The Development of Comparative Law in China
Prof. Chao Wang, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Macau: Conservative Political Nature and Subservient Judiciary: An Illiberal Model of Rule of Law in Postwar Japan

Discussion/Q&A

15.45 – 16.00 Coffee break

16.00 – 17.15 4th Session: Comparative Law between Portugal and Macau

Chair: Prof. Paulo Canelas de Castro, Associate Professor of European Union Law, University of Macau, Jean Monnet Chair

Prof. Dario Moura Vicente, Professor of Comparative Law, University of Lisbon, Portugal: The Common Law of Portuguese-speaking Countries and Territories
Prof. Paula Nunes Correia, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Macau: The Macanese Legal System: a Comparative Law Perspective
Prof. Augusto Teixeira Garcia, Associate Professor of Commercial Law and Associate Dean, University of Macau: The Commercial Code and Comparative Law: a Happy Marriage?

Discussion/Q&A

17.15 – 17.30 Conference Closing remarks

Prof. Salvatore Mancuso, Associate Professor of Comparative Law, University of Macau; President of the Macau Association of Comparative Law

CALL FOR PAPERS: Irish Society of Comparative Law Conference (2-3 March 2012)

2011-11-03T16:00:00.001+01:00

CALL FOR PAPERS

IRISH SOCIETY OF COMPARATIVE LAW

4th Annual General Meeting and Conference

Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd March 2012

Faculty of Law, University College Cork

Papers placing Irish law in comparative perspective are especially encouraged, but any topic in comparative or legal systems may be proposed: Private and Public Law, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, Taxation, Legal Education, Legal History, etc. Research in the area of Law and Language and Translation will be considered with interest. Papers on European or International law will also be considered.

The primary objective of the Irish Society of Comparative Law is to encourage the comparative study of law and legal systems. Students fully registered for a masters in law, or law-related area (LL.M, MA) are therefore encouraged to submit papers, and a special ISCL Young Researcher Prize will be awarded to the best paper delivered by a student in this category.

Proposal should be short (250 words) and sent to b.sage@ucc.ie.

The deadline for receipt of proposals is Tuesday 3rd January 2012. You do not have to be a member of the ISCL to propose a paper.

The Annual General Meeting and first plenary address by Dr Simone Glanert, University of Kent, will take place on Friday 2nd March. Conference sessions, the second plenary address (speaker TBC) and conference dinner will take place on Saturday 3rd March. Registration forms and additional information will be available shortly.

The Irish Society of Comparative Law was established in June 2008 and is recognised by the International Academy of Comparative Law. The ISCL is open to those interested in Irish and comparative law. Its purpose is to encourage the comparative study of law and legal systems and to seek affiliation with individuals and organisations with complimentary aims. Queries should be directed to the Secretary of the Society, Dr Bénédicte Sage-Fuller, Faculty of Law, University College Cork, at b.sage@ucc.ie.

CALL FOR PAPERS: ASCL Younger Comparativists Committee Conference - New Perspectives in Comparative Law

2011-11-01T20:47:00.000+01:00

I've been asked to post the following:

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF COMPARATIVE LAW

YOUNGER COMPARATIVISTS COMMITTEE

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT:

NEW PERSPECTIVES IN COMPARATIVE LAW

The Younger Comparativists Committee of the American Society of Comparative Law is pleased to invite submissions for its inaugural conference to be held on April 20, 2012, at George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC. The purpose of the conference is to highlight and develop the scholarship of new and younger comparativists, hence the title of the conference: New Perspectives in Comparative Law.

Submissions will be accepted on any subject of public or private comparative law from scholars who have been engaged as law teachers, lecturers, fellows, or another academic capacity for no more than ten years as of June 30, 2012.

Members of the Younger Comparativists Committee’s Scholarship Advisory Group will review submissions with the authors’ identities concealed. The Scholarship Advisory Group will select a best paper which will be showcased during a plenary panel with comments from senior scholars in the area. Other papers will be assigned to separate panels according to subject.

The American Society of Comparative Law has generously agreed to provide a limited number of modest stipends toward travel expenses for participants with a demonstrable need of financial assistance.

To submit an entry, scholars should submit completed papers no longer than 30,000 words (including footnotes) no later than February 15, 2012, to Judy Yi at the following address: judy.yi@bc.edu. Papers should reflect original research that will not yet have been published by the time of the conference. The paper should be accompanied by a separate cover sheet indicating the author’s name, title of the paper, institutional affiliation, and contact information. The paper itself must not contain any references that identify the author or the author’s institutional affiliation.

The final conference program will be circulated no later than March 26, 2012.

The Younger Comparativists Committee is delighted to thank George Washington University Law School for serving as our host for the conference, in particular Claudia Haupt for coordinating the event, and Markus Wagner of the University of Miami School of Law for chairing the Program Committee.

Please direct all inquiries to Richard Albert, Chair of the Younger Comparativists Committee, by email at richard.albert@bc.edu or telephone at 617.552.3930.

NOTICE: New German Law Journal

2011-10-29T00:00:00.000+02:00

The latest issue of the German Law Journal, focusing on the legitimacy and the future of the European Court of Human Rights, is out.

The contributions include:

Legitimacy and the Future of the European Court of Human Rights: Critical Perspectives from Academia and Practitioners - Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou & Alan Greene
The European Court of Human Rights: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - Mr. Justice John Hedigan
European Consensus and the Evolutive Interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights - Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou
Marriage, Family, Discrimination & Contradiction: An Evaluation of the Legacy and Future of the European Court of Human Rights’ Jurisprudence on LGBT Rights - Sarah Lucy Cooper
Separating Normalcy from Emergency: The Jurisprudence of Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights - Alan Greene
Dismantling the Iron-Cage: the Discursive Persistence and Legal Failure of a “Bureaucratic Rational” Construction of the Admissibility Decision-Making of the European Court of Human Rights - Andrew Tickell
“A More Secure Europe of Rights?” The European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union and EU Accession to the ECHR - Noreen O’Meara
The ECHR, the EU and the Weakness of Social Rights Protection at European Level - Roderic O’Gorman
The Future of the European Court of Human Rights - Michael O’Boyle

NOTICE AND CALL FOR PAPERS: ELSA Malta Law Review

2011-10-18T00:15:00.001+02:00

ELSA MALTA, the Maltese chapter of the European Law Students' Association (ELSA) have recently launched the ELSA Malta Law Review, a new annual law review supported by the Chamber of Advocates (the Bar Association of Malta):

The aims of the Law Review are to provide students with exposure and to publish their research; to provide opportunities for students and young practitioners to enhance their academic writing and editing skills; to provide greater accessibility to legal scholarship for practitioners, academic and students; to publish research by academia.

Submissions are now being accepted for the second edition. The contents of the first issue include:

• Foreword by Professor Kevin Aquilina, Dean of the Faculty of Laws, University of Malta.
• Foreword by Professor Peter G. Xuereb, Head of the Department of European and Comparative Law and Patron of the ELSA European Union Law Essay Competition.
• Editorial by Anna Abela, Editor in Chief of the ELSA Malta Law Review.
• Daniel Mark Azzopardi, 'Integrating Europe's Security Markets: The Way Forward'.
• Roberta Avellino, 'Trafficking in Persons: A Contemporary Threat to Human Dignity'.
• Paul Cachia, 'Recent Developments in the sphere of Jurisdiction in Civil and Commercial Matters'.
• Charles Cassar, 'Leap of Faith: Launching the First Maltese Unit Trust'.
• Lauro Fava, 'The European Union's Constitutional Development: Towards the Solidary Integration Model'.
• Ismail Faiza, 'Guantanamo Bay: A Human Disaster as a Consequence of Disregard To Law'.
• Paul Lambert, 'Television Courtroom Broadcasting Research: The Problem, the Challenge and Eye Tracking'.
• Tomas Pavelka, 'The Concept of 'Directed Website' - A Jurisdictional Phenomenon Clarified? Cross-border consumer and tort victim protection in the light of recent ECJ Jurisprudence'.
• David Testa, 'Challenging Classical Self-Determination: Kosovo's Case for Independence'.
• Gordon Wade, 'Freedom of Expression, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: A Jurisdictional Comparative'.
• Clement Mifsud Bonnici, 'Mobility in Europe through Primary Outbound Establishment: Challenging the Daily Mail Rule', Winner of the ELSA Malta European Union Law Essay Competition.
• Karl Tanti, 'The Common Consolidated Tax Base and Its Implications for Malta', Awarded a Special Commendation in the ELSA Malta European Union Law Essay Competition.
• Tessa Mallia Borg, 'The Quantification of Damages Before the Maltese Courts in Light of Turner vs. Agius and Recent Amendments to the Civil Code'.
• Jakub Jost, 'Joined Cases C-92/09 AND c-93/09 Volker und Markus Schecke GbR Hartmut Eifert v. Land Hessen, judgment
of the Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) of 9 November 2010'.
• Nicola Jaccarini, 'The Quantification of Damages Under Maltese Tort Law - An Analysis of Butler vs. Heard in
Consideration of Past, Present and Proposed Legislation'.
• Alison Mallia Borg, 'Taxation of Foundations Under the Foundations (Income Tax) Regulations'.

NOTICE: Flanagan on Judicial Decision-Making and Transnational Law

2011-10-13T10:30:00.000+02:00

Those interested in comparative public or constitutional law might have a look at Brian Flanagan (NUI- Maynooth (Ireland))'s 'Judicial Decision-Making and Transnational Law: A Survey of Common Law Supreme Court Judges'. It's forthcoming in (2011) 60 International & Comparative Law Quarterly 1 and available on SSRN.

The abstract reads

This is a survey study of 43 judges from the British House of Lords, the Caribbean Court of Justice, the High Court of Australia, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, and the Supreme Courts of Ireland, India, Israel, Canada, New Zealand and the United States on the use of foreign law in constitutional rights cases. We find that the conception of apex judges citing foreign law as a source of persuasive authority (associated with Anne-Marie Slaughter, Vicki Jackson and Chris McCrudden) is of limited application. Citational opportunism and the aspiration to membership of an emerging international ‘guild’ appear to be equally important strands in judicial attitudes towards foreign law. We argue that their presence is at odds with Ronald Dworkin’s theory of legal objectivity, and is revealed in a manner meeting his own methodological standard for attitudinal research.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Seventh Annual Comparative Law Works in Progress Workshop (USA)

2011-10-12T10:28:00.000+02:00

A Call For Papers for a Workshop on Works in Progress on comparative law has been issued. It is described as:

Kim Lane Scheppele (Princeton University, Program in Law and Public Affairs), Jacqueline Ross (University of Illinois College of Law), and James Whitman (Yale Law School) are calling for paper submissions for the Seventh Annual Comparative Law Works in Progress Workshop which will take place at the Princeton University on February 10-12, 2012. This workshop has been established jointly by Princeton University, the University of Illinois College of Law and Yale Law School and will be co-sponsored by the American Society of Comparative Law.

CONFERENCE DETAILS: The participants will consist of the respective authors, one commentator on each paper, faculty members of the host institution, particularly those with expertise in comparative law and research, and others interested in attending. The overall group will be kept small enough to sit around a large table and to allow serious discussion (20 people maximum). The papers will not be presented at the workshop. They will be distributed two weeks in advance and every participant must have read them before attending the meeting. The commentator will present a 10 to 15 minute introduction and critique, leaving at least one hour for discussion. There are no plans to publish the papers. Instead, it is up to the authors to seek publication if, and wherever, they wish.

The Seventh Annual Comparative Law Workshop will take place on February 10-12, 2012 at Princeton University. The Workshop will be funded by the host school and by the American Society of Comparative Law. Authors of papers and commentators will be reimbursed for their travel expenses and accommodation up to $600, either by the host institution or by the ASCL, in accordance with the ASCL reimbursement policy (as posted on its webpage,) though the ASCL asks that authors seek reimbursement only if it is not available from their home institution.

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: Interested authors should submit papers to Kim Lane Scheppele at: kimlane@princeton.edu on or before December 1, 2011. We will inform authors of our decision by early January, 2012. "Work in progress" means scholarship that has reached a stage at which it is substantial enough to merit serious discussion and critique but that has not yet appeared in print (although it may have been accepted for publication). It includes law review articles, book chapters or outlines, substantial book reviews, and other appropriate genres.

Our objective is not only to provide an opportunity for the discussion of scholarly work but also to create an opportunity for comparative lawyers to get together for two days devoted to nothing but talking shop, both in the sessions and outside. We hope that this will create synergy that fosters more dialogue, cooperation, and an increased sense of coherence in a discipline badly in need of it.

NOTICE: Additional Elgar titles on International Economic Law and Private International Law

2011-10-12T10:06:00.000+02:00

Elgar Publishing has published still more new titles, on International Economic Law and Private International Law. These include:

Erika Szyszczak (ed), Research Handbook On European State Aid Law
Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer (ed), Social Regulation In The WTO: Trade Policy and International Legal Development
Inge Govaere, Reinhard Quick, and Marco Bronckers (eds), Trade And Competition Law In The Eu And Beyond
Hans-W. Micklitz (ed), The Many Concepts Of Social Justice In European Private Law

NOTICE: Rose-Ackerman on Comparative Administrative Law

2011-10-10T09:57:00.001+02:00

As part of its expanding catalogue of comparative law titles, Elgar Publishing has announced the publication of Susan Rose-Ackerman (ed), Comparative Administrative Law (2011):

This research handbook is a comprehensive overview of the field of comparative administrative law. The specially commissioned chapters in this landmark volume represent a broad, multi-method approach combining perspectives from history and social science with more strictly legal analyses. Comparisons of the United States, continental Europe, and the British Commonwealth are complemented by contributions that focus on Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The work aims to stimulate comparative research on public law, reaching across countries and scholarly disciplines.

Beginning with historical reflections on the emergence of administrative law over the last two centuries, the volume then turns to the relationship of administrative and constitutional law, with an additional section focusing on the key issue of administrative independence. Two further sections highlight the possible tensions between impartial expertise and public accountability, drawing insights from economics and political science as well as law. The final section considers the changing boundaries of the administrative state – both the public-private distinction and the links between domestic and transnational regulatory bodies such as the European Union. In covering this broad range of topics, the book illuminates a core concern of administrative law: the way individuals and organizations across different systems test and challenge the legitimacy of public authority.

This extensive, interdisciplinary appraisal of the field will prove a vital resource for scholars and students of administrative and comparative law. Historians of the state looking for a broad overview of a key area of public law, reformers in emerging economies, donor agencies looking for governance options, and policy analysts with an interest in the law/policy interface will find this work a valuable addition to their library.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Second EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE LEGAL HISTORY Conference (Amsterdam 9-10 July 2012

2011-09-26T16:28:00.000+02:00

The Second European Society for Comparative Legal History Conference will be held in Amsterdam from 9-10 July 2012. The theme is:

COMPARATIVE LEGAL HISTORY

Definitions and Challenges

Call for papers

Comparative Legal History is a relatively young discipline. It focuses explicitly on the comparison of legal ideas and legal institutions in divergent legal traditions. The European Society for Comparative Legal History (ESCLH) was founded in 2009 in order to promote such comparison. Its Inaugural Conference (Valencia, 5-6 July 2010) showed that it is not always easy to find material which is suitable for serious comparison and to establish the criteria which have to be met in order to come to grips with this material.

The Second ESCLH Conference, which will take place on 9-10 July 2012 at Amsterdam and will be hosted by the VU University, aims at addressing this fundamental problem. Under the heading “Definitions and Challenges” it will try to delineate the landmarks which fruitful legal historical comparison requires and to trace the specific problems that a comparative-historical approach of the various branches of law may encounter. The keynote address will be delivered by David Ibbetson, Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Cambridge.

As regards the papers for the parallel sessions, the Conference first of all hopes to provide a venue for legal historians and comparatists to present their investigations in order to discuss their work, exchange ideas and broaden their views. For this reason you are invited to propose papers on any subject within the field of comparative legal history.

However, following the methodological problems dealt with under the heading “Definitions and Challenges”, this Conference also aims at presenting investigations into specific areas of law, where legal historical comparison has proven to be fruitful. These investigations have in common that they do not depart from normative legal concepts (which sometimes only seemingly appear to be comparable) but from functional problems of a more factual, meta-juridical nature.

The first is ‘Fascist Criminal Law’ (co-ordinator: Stephen Skinner, University of Exeter). This theme is important in both historical and contemporary terms. A recurrent theme in recent and ongoing work on law and democracy in Europe has been the challenge of dealing with ‘darker’ aspects of law’s ideological, substantive and methodological roots in anti-democratic legal orders. In terms of legal history, grappling with the meanings of ‘fascism’ and the ideological, rhetorical and substantive dimensions of criminal law under fascist regimes requires a comparative approach in order to identify the distinguishing characteristics of such regimes. Arguably, the area of criminal law brings into sharp relief the power-relationship between State and citizen, and as such, it is a key area of law to be studied in order to understand the nature of fascist systems.

The second area, ‘Corporate law’ (co-ordinator: Tammo Wallinga, University of Antwerp), is a field of law which can be analyzed from various legal perspectives, without focussing on the comparison of a specific dogmatic concept. Just as the theme ‘Fascist Criminal law’ touches upon fundamental issues, such as the relationship between State and citizen, corporate law has its own characteristic issues: various types of enterprise – market-related or not – establishment and organization of a company, the relationship with consumers, civil authorities, debtors and creditors, workers’ rights, etc. Here, comparison aims at understanding the changing nature of corporate law within a changing economic context, from medieval society, through the ages of early capitalism and industrialisation to present day issues.

Factual information:

- Those interested in presenting a paper at the ESCLH Conference 2012 are requested to submit the title of their paper and a short abstract (approximately 250 words) before January 1st to the organizing committee c/o Jan Hallebeek, VU University Amsterdam (j.hallebeek@vu.nl).

- Papers should deal with a topic within the field of comparative legal history. Presentations should not exceed 15 minutes and should be in English.

- Please indicate whether your paper is related to the general theme (Comparative Legal History, Definitions and Challenges), one of the specific fields of law (Fascist Criminal Law, Corporate Law) or another subject.

- In January 2012 it will be announced which papers are accepted. The abstracts of these papers will shortly thereafter be made available on the Conference-website.

Additional information, including advice on accommodation and directions, is available on the Conference-website.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Second issue of Scientia Juris (Metz Law School Journal)

2011-09-26T15:04:00.000+02:00

Legal Maxims in the 21st Century – Law in Books or Law in Action?

“Hence, in all civilized nations, we always witness the formation, alongside the temple of enacted laws under the legislator’s supervision, of a repository of maxims, decisions, and doctrinal writings which is daily refined by the practitioners and their clashing debates in court, which steadily grows as all acquired knowledge is added to it, and which has always been regarded as the true supplement of legislation”.

- Translation of J.-E.-M. Portalis in Alain Levasseur, ‘Code Napoleon or Code Portalis?’ (1968) 43 Tulane Law Review 762, 769-70.

This famous quotation of Portalis expresses in a brilliant phrase that statutes are not the only sources of law and that alongside them are maxims or adages, as well as judge-made law and doctrine.

Whether they are principles of interpretation or vehicles of a substantive rule, they are abundant in the treatises. They seem to exist in all legal systems (continental law, common law, religious law, etc.). The judge sometimes relies on them to base his decision. The most famous of them have been the subject of scholarly study. Their legal strength seems well established. They are probably one of the last islands of customary law. However, at the end of the first decade of this century, it seems that a reexamination of this question is worthwhile. The maxims still contain many mysteries.

What maxims apply in real life from the law: do they have normative importance that make legal traditionalists jealous of their knowledge? Do they still have a place in a world saturated with legislation as regulation? Do they constitute one of the last havens of stability among ever-changing standards? Is this permanence through their generality? Is this imprecision compatible with legal certainty? How otherwise explain the strength of the expression that they show?

And for those that exist in multiple families of law or in different jurisdictions, how have they traveled? Does a similar expression signify a similarity in meaning and scope? What about maxims in mixed jurisdictions (Louisiana, Quebec, Malta, Israel, etc.): does their introduction into a hybrid system lead to a separation from the original?

This list is far from complete; numerous other problems and points could be addressed as well. Similarly, the bibliography given below is only meant as a research tool; consultation of documents mentioned here is thus neither required nor objectively indispensable. The papers sought should put forth and defend ideas, hypotheses, models or theories, but not simply present data or already published research work in a more or less descriptive way. Submissions shall be sent as an Open Office or Word file to the editors by March 30, 2012. There is no minimum or maximum length. Our working languages are French, English, German, and Spanish. The Metz Law School Journal is peer-reviewed.

Note that contributors can also submit papers outside of the focus of this call on any comparative or transnational subject. All submissions should be sent to rjfdm@univ-metz.fr or licari@univ-metz.fr.

Selective bibliography:

Vera Bolgar, The Present Function of the Maxim Ignorantia Iuris Neminem Excusat- A Comparative Study, 52 Iowa L. R. 626 (1967)
Roland Boyer, Sur quelques adages : notes d’histoire et de jurisprudence, 156 Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes 1998, p. 13.
Ronald A. Cass, Ignorance of the Law: A Maxim Reexamined, 17 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 671 (1976)
Pierre-André Côté, L’interprétation de la loi en droit civil et en droit statutaire : communauté de langues et différences d’accents, (1997) 31 Revue Juridique Thémis 45
Frank De Lorenzo, Modern Air Law Problems and the "Cujus Solum" Maxim, 23 Marq. L. Rev. 131 (1939)
J.-M. Gouvard, Les adages du droit français, Langue française, n° 123, 1999, p. 70
André Gouron, Cessante causa cessat effectus : à la naissance de l'adage, Comptes-rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 143e année, N. 1, 1999, p. 299
Walton H. Hamilton, The Ancient Maxim Caveat Emptor, 40 Yale L. J. 1133 (1931)
Selim Jahel, Les principes généraux du droit dans les systèmes arabo-musulmans au regard de la technique juridique contemporaine, 55 Revue internationale de droit comparé, p. 105 (2003)
Benjamin W. Janke, Revisiting Contra Non Valentem in Light of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 68 La. L. Rev. 497 (2008)
Benjamin W. Janke & François-Xavier Licari, Contra Non Valentem in France and Louisiana: Revealing the Parenthood, Breaking a Myth, 71 La. L. Rev. 503 (2011)
André Laingui, L’image du juge et de l’accusé dans la littérature des adages, in Etudes en l’honneur de J.-P. Royer, 2009, p. 585
Henry Long, Finding the Better Equity: The Maxim Qui Prior Tempore Est Potior Jure and the Modern Law Relating to Equitable Priorities, 3 Deakin L. Rev. 147 (1996)
Rafael Domingo Oslé, Beatriz Rodríguez Antolín, Javier Ortiga & Nicolás Zambrana, Principios de derecho global, 1000 reglas y aforísmos jurídicos comentados, 2006
Roscoe Pound, Law in Books and Law in Action (1910) 44 American Law Review 12 ; The Maxims of Equity, 34 Harv. L. Rev. 809 (1921)
Alain Rouiller, Rapports entre les maximes « Error communis facit jus » et nemo plus juris… » dans la jurisprudence moderne, Répertoire Commaille 1967, p. 165
Jeremiah Smith, The Use of Maxims in Jurisprudence, 9 Harv. L. Rev. 13
Karl Spiro, Zur neueren Geschichte des Satzes “Agere non valenti non currit praescriptio,” in Festschrift für Hans Lewald, 1953, 585
Peter Stein: The Digest Title, De Diversis Regulis Iuris Antiqui, and the General Principles of Law in R. A. Newman, Essays in Jurisprudence in Honor of Roscoe Pound (1962, reprinted in Stein, The Character and Influence of the Roman Civil Law: Historical Essays (1988)) ; Regulae Iuris: From Juristic Rules to Legal Maxims (1966) ; Civil Law Maxims in Moral philosophy, 48 Tul. L. Rev. 1075 (1973-4)

NOTICE: International symposium on François Gény

2011-09-02T10:35:00.000+02:00

An international symposium on François Gény will soon take place in Nancy and Metz:

« LA PENSEE DE FRANÇOIS GENY »
COLLOQUE INTERNATIONAL DES 20 ET 21 OCTOBRE 2011
- INSTITUT FRANÇOIS GENY

Jeudi 20 octobre 2011 à NANCY

9h00 : Allocutions de bienvenue de Martial Delignon, Président de l’Université Nancy 2, d’Eric Germain, Doyen de la Faculté de Droit, Sciences économiques et Gestion de Nancy et de François Fourment, Directeur de l’Institut François Gény

Matinée présidée par le Doyen Christian Baldus

9h30: François Terré, Professeur émérite de l’Université Panthéon-Assas : « Rencontre avec François Gény»

10h00: Michel Auberger, Ingénieur civil des mines, Dr. en sciences économiques : « La vie de François Gény : la doctrine et son époque »

10h30 Discussion et pause

11h00 : Pierre-Yves Gautier, Professeur à l’Université Panthéon-Assas : « L'actualité méthodologique de ‘Science et technique’ »

11h30 : Olivier Moréteau, Professeur à la Lousiana State University : « La traduction de l’œuvre de François Gény »

12 h00 : Déjeuner en salle du Conseil

Après-midi présidée par le Professeur François Terré

14h00 : Frédéric Audren, Ecole du Droit, Sciences-Po Paris : « La correspondance de François Gény : la doctrine et l’échange »

14h30 : Christian Baldus, Doyen honoraire, Université de Heidelberg : « Les lectures de François Gény : la doctrine française et l’Ecole des Pandectes »

15 h 00 : Matthias Martin, doctorant en Droit privé, IFG/CRDP : « La conception du droit par Gény arrêtiste »

15h30 Discussion et pause

16h00 : Patrick Tafforeau, Professeur à la Faculté de Droit de Nancy : « François Gény, l’art culinaire et le droit d’auteur »

16h30 : Christine Lebel, Maître de conférences HDR à la Faculté de Droit de Nancy et François Lormant, IGR-HDR au Centre Lorrain d’Histoire du Droit : « François Gény et le droit rural et forestier »

17h00 : Adeline Karcher, ATER, Université de Rouen, doctorante IFG/CLHD : « Le doyen François Gény et la Faculté de Droit de Nancy

18h30 : Réception à l’Hôtel de ville de Nancy

20h30 : Dîner de gala au Grand hôtel de la Reine

Vendredi 21 octobre 2011, à METZ (57)

Matinée présidée par Mme Claude Thomasset

8h30 : Départ de Nancy en bus

9h30 : Discours d’ouverture de Luc Johann, Président du PRES Nancy Université et de Yann Mangematin, Doyen de la Faculté de Droit et d’Administration de l’Université Paul Verlaine, Metz

10h00 : Nathalie Pierre, Maître de conférences à la Faculté de droit de Nancy : « François Gény et le droit de la responsabilité civile »

10h30 : Jean-Luc Piotraut, Maître de conférences HDR à la Faculté de Droit de Metz : « François Gény et le droit de la propriété industrielle »

11h00 : Discussion et pause

11h30 : Estelle Vagost, doctorante en droit privé IFG/CRDP : « François Gény et l’adaptation du droit aux périodes de crise »

12h00 : Masamichi Nozawa, Professeur à l’Université Rikkyo, Tokyo : « L’influence de Gény sur le droit civil au Japon »

12h30 : Déjeuner à la Faculté de droit de Metz

Après-midi présidée par le Professeur Pierre Yves Gautier

14h00 : Ludovic Bernardeau, Maître de conférences HDR à l’Université Paris X Nanterre, « François Gény et la fiscalité »

14h30 : Laurent Seurot, doctorant en droit public, IRENEE : « François Gény et le droit administratif »

15h00 : Discussion et pause

15h30 : Olivier Cachard, Professeur à l’Université Nancy 2 : « La libre recherche scientifique à son paroxysme : la jurisprudence arbitrale »

16h00 : Claude Thomasset, Professeur émérite de l’Université du Québec à Montréal : « À propos du testament intellectuel de Gény : ‘Ultima verba’ »

16h30 : Conclusion générale des travaux

There are no fees for those who want to attend. More information can be obtained from marie-christine.matricou@univ-nancy2.fr

Comité scientifique du cent-cinquantenaire :

Olivier Cachard, Doyen honoraire de la Faculté de Droit de Nancy, Co-directeur de l’Institut de droit international et comparé
François-Xavier Licari, Maître de conférences HDR, Faculté de droit de Metz
François Lormant, Ingénieur de recherches-HDR, Directeur adjoint du Centre lorrain d’histoire du Droit, Faculté de Droit de Nancy
Jean-Luc Piotraut, Maître de conférences HDR, Faculté de droit de Metz, Co-directeur de l’Institut de droit international et comparé

NOTICE: Jasiak on Constitutional Constraints on Ad Hoc Legislation

2011-08-31T14:02:00.000+02:00

Intersentia has announced the publication of Anna Jasiak, Constitutional Constraints on Ad Hoc Legislation: A Comparative Study of the United States, Germany and the Netherlands (2011):

Legislatures sometimes adopt laws that create a special legal regime for a particular case rather than general rules for an indefinite number of situations or persons. These ad hoc laws are controversial. Politically, legislatures may be forced to act in one specific case (for example as a respond to a public outcry), but in doing so they risk violating the principles of the rule of law. Such legislative practice might lead to abuse of legislative power, inequality of citizens before the law, legal uncertainty, and weakening of the position of the courts. The purpose of this first in-depth comparative study in the fields of constitutional law and legislative studies is to clarify the use and existence of ad hoc laws and to place them within a constitutional framework of the rule of law. It is a comparative study of the United States, Germany and the Netherlands.

Those who will benefit from this book are constitutional law/legislation/human rights academics, constitutional law practitioners, judges from constitutional courts, legislative lawyers and legislators. This book provides innovative and profound insights from a comparative perspective and is a valuable addition to library collections.